(Alliance News) - Kerry Group PLC on Thursday said revenue rose in 2022 on the back of volume growth and price increases, but profit fell mostly due to costs incurred through disposals and the company's restructuring programme.
The Tralee, Ireland-based nutrition solutions provider for food, beverage and pharmaceutical markets reported pretax profit was EUR699.0 million, down 14% from EUR816.3 million a year ago.
The company said it made an EUR63.0 million loss on the disposal of its operations in Russia and Belarus, undertaken due to the war in Ukraine. Kerry also incurred costs of EUR49.2 million from its 'accelerate operational excellence' restructuring programme, which is set to run until 2024.
Revenue was EUR8.77 billion in 2022, up 19% from EUR7.35 billion in 2021. The company's Taste & Nutrition division reported revenue of EUR7.4 billion, up 29% from a year ago. The company noted that it achieved organic revenue growth of 18% in 2022.
Volume growth was 6.1% in 2022, compared to 8.0% in 2021, while pricing increased by 12%, up from 1.2% a year ago.
Kerry declared a final dividend of EUR0.73 per share, increasing the total dividend to EUR1.05, up 10% from EUR0.95 per share the year prior.
Adjusted earnings per share was EUR4.41 in 2022, up 16% from EUR3.81 a year ago. The company said it expects adjusted earnings per share growth of between 3% and 7% in 2023.
Chief Executive Officer Edmond Scanlon: "As we marked Kerry's 50th year in 2022, we achieved record organic revenue growth against the backdrop of an exceptionally dynamic operating environment. I am proud of the broad-based volume growth we delivered across our end use markets, channels, regions and emerging markets despite the macroeconomic conditions.
"We made good strategic progress in the year through development of our innovation platforms, footprint expansion and continued portfolio development.
"We completed a number of acquisitions aligned to our strategic priorities of taste, nutrition and emerging markets, and since year-end we announced the potential sale of our sweet ingredients portfolio, as we continue to enhance and refine our business to areas where we can add most value."
Kerry shares were up 4.4% trading at EUR91.32 per share on Thursday morning in London.
By Harvey Dorset, Alliance News reporter
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